2015 Baby Carriers Brand Reviews

These ratings have been archieved. For the latest ratings, have a look at the current baby carrier ratings.
Sometimes using a carrier is the best option to carry your child. We have written some great articles about baby carriers and considerations you should make when buying or using one.

* Overall satisfaction is an individual rating and not a combined total of all ratings. Brands with equal overall satisfaction ratings are listed in alphabetical order. Canstar Blue research finalised in May 2015, published in July 2015.

Most Satisfied Customers | Ergobaby

Ergobaby emerged with a five star rating for overall satisfaction to win our Most Satisfied Customers award offering great value, a cosy fit, most comfortable and easy to use carrier.

Ergobaby carries off our Most Satisfied Customers award

Baby carriers are an essential item for any doting parent, as they let you carry around your offspring with much less effort than doing so by hand. They also offer a way of travelling with your child that’s much more intimate and less fuss than using a pram or stroller. It seems the majority of Aussies agree, with a whopping 85% of people telling us that using a baby carrier gives them more freedom. So keeping in mind the convenience of these products, what features should you be looking for in a baby carrier, and how do you know which one is the best?

Here at Canstar Blue we’ve utilised the opinions of thousands of Aussies to determine which products Australians are most satisfied with. We rated baby carrier satisfaction by criteria such as value for money, fit and security, comfort and several more, and there was one brand we found superior to the others: Ergobaby emerged with a five star rating for overall satisfaction to win our Most Satisfied Customers award, beating the likes of Babybjörn on four stars as well as Tomy and Hug-a-Bub on three stars. To check out how the brands compared side-by-side, check out our breakdown below.

Value for money

When hunting for a baby carrier, you want to strike a good balance between affordability and quality. You don’t want to break the bank for something that you’ll only need for a few years, but it’ll be an item that gets used heavily. The best value equation was offered by both Ergobaby and Hug-a-Bub with each brand achieving the maximum five stars; Babybjörn scored four stars and Tomy three.

Fit (how secure it feels)

It’s not much good having a baby carrier that starts to slide off your shoulders as soon as you start walking! Having a firm, secure fit was our single largest driver of overall satisfaction; it ensures that your baby is safe and that they feel nice and cosy when being carried by mum or dad. The king of cosy fit was Ergobaby with a five star rating for their products’ fit, followed by four-star achievers Babybjörn and Tomy as well as Hug-a-Bub with three stars.

Comfort and support

A similar area of judgement to having a secure fit, the comfort and support offered by a baby carrier is important for both the parent and the baby alike. Overall winner Ergobaby lived up to its name by offering the most comfortable and ergonomic products, as evidenced by their five-star satisfaction rating. Close behind them were Hug-a-Bub and Babybjörn on four stars followed by Tomy on three.

Ease of use

Our second-largest driver of overall satisfaction, ease of use encompasses a range of attributes that determine whether a baby carrier will slot easily into your everyday life. This includes being easy to put on and take off, useful features, ergonomic design and plenty more. Our survey respondents found Babybjörn and Ergobaby to be the most satisfying brands when it came to how easy their products were to use, resulting in them achieving five-star ratings. Other brands Tomy and Hug-a-Bub were some way back on three stars each.

Fabric

Good quality fabric is an integral aspect of the aforementioned comfort and ease of use metrics; a carrier made of fabric that is easy to clean, breathable and nice to handle goes a long way to influencing your decision to purchase. Hug-a-Bub secured their second five-star rating when it came to fabric quality, drawing the most satisfied customers from amidst our survey group. Next were four-star achievers Ergobaby and Babybjörn, followed by Tomy on three stars.

Adaptability

Adaptability refers to how easily customised each baby carrier brand is to your way of life. Do you prefer to carry your baby on your back or on your front? Do you prefer a tight fit or a loose fit? Adjustability is never a bad thing in a baby carrier, and it was Babybjörn’s products which offered the most of all to secure a five-star adaptability rating. Tomy also did well in this area with four stars, whilst Hug-a-Bub and Ergobaby finished with three.

Frequently Asked Questions

Canstar Blue commissions Colmar Brunton to survey 1,300 Australian consumers across a range of categories to measure and track customer satisfaction. The outcomes reported are the results from customers within the survey group who have purchased a baby carrier, sling or wrap in the last 3 years – in this case, 524 Australian parents.

Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included. Results are comparative and it should be noted that brands receiving three stars have still achieved a satisfaction measure of at least six out of 10. Not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The ratings table is first sorted by star ratings and then alphabetically. A rated brand may receive a ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable) rating if it does not receive the minimum number of responses for that criteria.